Soul II Soul star Jazzie B believes N-Dubz star Dappy could be the saviour of the British music scene

The Soul II Soul star - who was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to British music in 2008 - thinks artists have to rely too heavily on collaborations to get a break in the charts, but has earmarked Dappy as one step ahead of the competition.

He told BANG Showbiz: "Some of these artists from the UK have to collaborate with these pop singers for them to get a ticket, for them to get through the door.

"Your culture, your roots - there's a little bit of your culture that goes with that- especially if people some to see you and you don't have that vocalist with you, it could start to wear out.

"But I saw Dappy and Tinchy Stryder doing their thing, and I notice he's doing a lot more vocals and rapping, it's really interesting to see that evolution, and maybe that could be the antidote to what's happening.

"They have probably caught on to the ideal of what's pop and what's going to end up in the charts, and that's what people are looking for."

Dappy - who stars in Tinchy's latest single 'Spaceship' - has recently been to the US with N-Dubz in a bid to establish the group, and 'Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)' hitmaker Jazzie believes one of the reasons his group was so successful was because they were about more than just the music.

He added: "Soul II Soul were different, as it was more of a lifestyle. The level of integrity was quite different.

"It managed to influence a whole style of music and then went to America, as naïve as soul II soul was at that time and took a big bite out of America, which is like the holy grail to most artists going out there."

Soul II Soul play Jamie Oliver's The Big Feastival in Clapham Common on Friday 1st July - for full line-up details and ticket information check out www.thebigfeastival.co.uk